I am a big fan of cultures which have traditions with masks. Since my childhood I’ve admired people who perform with and make masks. I am fascinated by their historical uses/connection across cultures, i.e., ceremonial, ritual (as in death), theatrical, decadent celebration, etc. Even utilitarian masks become a symbol for what they are used for. I understand masks to posses great spiritual strength. The right mask has the ability to ward off evil, heal the sick, or protect and transcend human reality. They are otherworldly. To some, masks strike fear because they can obscure an identity. In my work the mask is the identity and the players in my stories are never hiding, but encompass the spirit of the mask.

My paintings and drawings are deeply personal and represent streams of thought based on personal experiences and the individuals who have influenced my life. I paint realistically, but not necessarily academically. My flaws represent the idiosyncrasies of my personal vision. I characterize my approach as magical surreal. Symbolic tableaus weave into non-linear narratives. They are backdrops of colliding realities: my past, present, and imagined experiences. I was raised in a working-class household of immigrant parents. My mother was a seamstress and my father, a welder/ ironworker. They both relied on the mastery of their skills to put food on the table. The exposure to their labor carried over into my psyche. Consequently, I favor a physicality to art-making, and I try to imbue the art object with that quality.

A month of MASKS

They are all things to all people. Are you wearing yours today?

Wikipedia says a mask is an object worn on the face.

That’s pretty observant. It seems people have been making masks all over the world all through time. Why? Why do we feel a need to cover our face, conceal ourselves. Is it deviousness anonymity a communal experience with the spirits Gods which we all seek and a mask is the portal? There are a plethora of uses for these things.

From Wikipedia:

They say the word “mask” appeared in the English language in the 1530’s, from Middle Frenchmasque “covering to hide or guard the face”, derived in turn from Italianmaschera, from Medieval Latinmasca “mask, specter, nightmare” This word is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Arabicmaskharahمَسْخَرَۃٌ “buffoon”, from the verb sakhira “to ridicule”. However, it may also come from Provençalmascarar “to black (the face)” (or the related Catalanmascarar, Old Frenchmascurer). This in turn is of uncertain origin — perhaps from a Germanic source akin to English “mesh”, but perhaps from mask- “black”, a borrowing from a pre-Indo-European language.[3] One German author claims the word “mask” is originally derived from the Spanish más que la cara (literally, “more than the face” or “added face”), which evolved to “máscara”, while the Arabic “maskharat” – referring to the buffoonery which is possible only by disguising the face – would be based on these Spanish roots.[4] Other related forms are Hebrewmasecha= “mask”; Arabic maskharaمَسْخَرَ = “he ridiculed, he mocked”, masakhaمَسَخَ = “he transfomed” (transitive).

There is much more to the subject of masks, its dense. I’m sure we can only scratch the thin epidermal of its essence. Please emote in the comment section no need to register your e-mail unless you want. What do you have to say about the Mask? Do you have an art masks? Comment below…

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